Essay on The Threat of Anne Hutchinson

Essay on The Threat of Anne Hutchinson

1318 WordsNov 26th, 20056 Pages

Richard
September 19, 2005
The Threat of Anne Hutchinson
Questions:
What had Anne Hutchinson done?
Why was Anne Hutchinson such a threat to the Massachusetts Bay colony?
How was Anne Hutchinson's trial an ordeal for her and how was it an ordeal for the community?

Anne Hutchinson, for centuries now, has been seen as a woman who paved the way for religious freedom. She was a great leader in the cause for religious toleration in America and the advancement of women in society. Anne
Hutchinson was "a magnetic woman of extraordinary talent and intellect" as well as a woman "who quickly gained respect among Boston's women as a midwife, healer, and spiritual counselor" (AP, p. 92).
Although Hutchinson is documented to have been…show more content…

33). This is where I feel
Anne Hutchinson found herself out of favor with Colonial Governor John
Winthrop. Winthrop, who would oversee the trial of Hutchinson, seemed to be an extremist of sorts when it came to the role of women under the Puritan religion.
He believed "women should be submissive and supportive" and that "there was ample support for his position in the Bible" (D, p. 33). The fact that Hutchinson began to reveal her own religious beliefs at her weeknight meetings held in her home was out-of-line with practices of others due to the accusations that men were present at the meetings. This was forbidden under Puritan law. Women were allowed to teach other women, almost always younger girls, but were strictly forbidden against revealing the beliefs or sermons to men. Remember, alone,
Anne was not a threat to the Puritan establishment in Massachusetts Bay.
However, as a woman leading a growing number of men, as well as women, she was a threat to their authority and had to be stopped. I feel that John Winthrop wanted Anne banished even before she was found guilty of anything.
One of the crucial beliefs of the Puritan religion was the belief in a
"covenant of grace" as opposed to a "covenant of work." A covenant of grace is the belief that "salvation came only as a free gift from God" and those who received this "would naturally live according to God's law" (D, p. 30). A

Biographical Essay: Anne Hutchinson
Born in Lincolnshire, England in 1591 Anne Hutchinson was a puritan spiritual advisor whose strong religious convictions caught the attention of many puritans in the New England area. She was a key role model in the developing time of New England’s colonies and was also recognized for her contribution to the history of women’s ministry. Hutchinson stood up for what she believed in, even when it wasn’t the popular opinion. She was and still is a role…

1. Anne Hutchinson- was a Puritan spiritual adviser and an important contributor in the Antinomian Controversy that shook the entire colony of Massachusetts Bay from 1636 to 1638.
2. Roger Williams- was an English Protestant cleric who was an advocate of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
3. William Bradford- was an English leader in the Plymouth Colony. He was also a signatory of the Mayflower Compact.
4. Thomas Hooker- was a prominent Puritan colonial leader, who founded…

The Threat of Anne Hutchinson
In Puritan led Massachusetts Bay Colony during the days of Anne Hutchinson was an intriguing place to have lived. It was designed ideally as a holy mission in the New World called the "city upon a hill," a mission to provide a prime example of how protestant lives should have subsisted of. A key ingredient to the success of the Puritan community was the cohesion of the community as a whole, which was created by a high level of conformity in the colony. Puritan…

Anne Hutchinson, Tecumseh and Thomas Jefferson are three very different individuals with unique ideas of freedom. Anne Hutchinson was a woman that sought the freedom to express her religious beliefs in her strict Puritan community. Tecumseh was a Shawnee leader who had high hopes of uniting Indian tribes in order to seek freedom for his people and regain the lands that he believed were rightfully theirs. Thomas Jefferson was an influential political leader and throughout his life fought to protect…

Anne Hutchinson has long been seen as a strong religious dissenter who paved the way for religious freedom in the strictly Puritan environment of New England. Another interpretation of the controversy surrounding Anne Hutchinson asserts that she was simply a loving wife and mother whose charisma and personal ideas were misconstrued to be a radical religious movement. Since this alleged religious movement was led by a woman, it was quickly dealt with by the Puritan fathers as a real threat. Whatever…

darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.” In this quote the author is referring to the rose bush by the prison as being a symbol of the sweet moral lesson offered by Anne Hutchinson, a woman who preached to the Puritans without the male-dominated permission of the Puritan church. Like Hester Prynne, Anne was punished. She was sent to the prison. No matter how small an action is, the culture of a society can respond in rage, loathing disgust, even fear. It is behavior that is learned…

The reason I picked this topic is because I admire Anne Hutchinson and the history of her
life and I strongly believe in the rights of the individual to freedom of thought, freedom of
speech, and the freedom to worship. She is a real hero because she faced adversity but she
refused to betray her ideals or ethics no matter what the cost was.
Anne Hutchinson, was born Anne Marbury, in Alford, Lincolnshire, England, in July,
1591, the daughter of Bridget Dryden and Francis Marbury, a deacon…

The Threat of Anne Hutchinson
In Puritan led Massachusetts Bay Colony during the days of Anne Hutchinson was an intriguing place to have lived. It was designed ideally as a holy mission in the New World called the “city upon a hill,” a mission to provide a prime example of how protestant lives should have subsisted of. A key ingredient to the success of the Puritan community was the cohesion of the community as a whole, which was created by a high level of conformity in the colony. Puritan…

any disruption to that plan should be eradicated. During the 17th century, witch hunts occurred due in part to Puritan’s stringent religious way of life. The controversy between John Winthrop and Anne Hutchinson rose up out of sexism, pose of threat and flawed theory in the form of a trial against Hutchinson.
Winthrop and Hutchinson’s personalities clashed immediately. They were neighbors in Boston and disliked each other from the start. Winthrop was an intransigent Calvinist Puritan. Predestination…

Anne Hutchinson and Puritan Leadership
Anne Hutchinson was a strong willed and intelligent woman that lived in 1637 in the Massachusetts Bay colony. She opposed both John Winthrop, governor of the colony, as well as the Puritan church leaders who had a different set of beliefs from her, and made up the court of elected officials that assisted the governor. She was banished from the colony in 1638 on charges of blasphemy, because she claimed to have direct and divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit…